[pianotech] Shop rate vs house call rate

[tnrwim at aol.com]

Kurt

We need to work for x number of dollar per hour to pay the bills. Part of the formula to figure out how much that is includes driving, down time, office time, etc. What ever that amount per hour is, we need to charge that regardless of what we're doing, whether it's tuning in someone's home, or working in your chop. In other words, if you charge $100 to tune a piano, and it takes you an hour to do that, you're charging $100 per hour. If you're charging $100 to tune a piano, and it takes you an hour and a half, you're charging $75 per hour. So if you take and hour to put on a set of bridle straps, and your fee is $100 per hour, you need to charge $100. If you string a piano in 12 hours, at $75 per hour, that's $900. 

Wim


-----Original Message-----
From: kurt baxter <fortefile at gmail.com>
To: Pianotech List <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Tue, Jun 29, 2010 7:41 am
Subject: [pianotech] Shop rate vs house call rate


Ok, so I am in the process of updating and organizing my fee schedule, and was wondering how others figure rates for work in-home vs in-shop.
Do most technicians charge less per hour for the same repairs/regulation if they do it in their shop? If so, why, and by how much?

No need for actual dollar amounts, just a percentage of what you normally get for an hour of tuning or repair, and your thinking behind it.

I figure my house call rate needs to cover:

Driving time.
Gas
Car expenses
Tools and training
The inefficiency resulting from working in someones living room with limited tools.

On the other hand, my shop rate needs to cover:

Shop rent 
Utilities  
Maintenance
Even more tools (and training).
The work involved in moving the action to and from your shop (unless of course you just charge two service calls on top of your shop rate)


It just feels odd to try and calculate how much my time is worth based on where I am standing at the time.

-kurt







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